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Hold your principles tight, hold your methods light.
by Drew Robbins
3 min read
Take The Lead
Principles are guardrails that keep your choices clear and credibility steady. Keep your core value, and get flexible with how you apply it.
Principles are guardrails that keep your choices clear and your credibility steady. Without them, decisions drift and trust slips. Every situation becomes a one off. They also save time by ruling out bad options fast.
The snag is when a strong principle hardens into a hard stop. Conversations stall and partners feel shut out. Momentum fades. The shift to make is simple. Keep your core value, and get flexible with how you apply it. Start by naming the interest behind your stance. Bring in objective standards. Put multiple workable options on the table. Be explicit about what is nonnegotiable and what can flex. Then use calibrated questions that open a path forward.
We build too many walls and not enough bridges.
— Isaac Newton
Where do you need to build a bridge this week, holding your principle while flexing your path so the work can move forward?
Try This
Write one sentence that names your nonnegotiable value, then list two flexible ways to honor it in this situation.
Notice What Happens
Watch how conversations change when you share the why, offer options, and invite objective criteria.
Share or Reflect
Name a time a rigid stance stalled progress, and what a principled but flexible move would have looked like.
Keep Going
Practice calibrated questions such as what about this does not work, and refine which principles are core and which can flex.
If this resonates, share with your network to help others lead with principled flexibility.
